Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a clamp adapted for mounting a cable. The clamp is also provided with attachment means for providing connection to a pipe, pipeline or other elongated members to which it is desirable to attach the cable. More specifically, the invention may be used to fixate subsea electrical power cables to a pipeline, and the invention may be useful in a Direct Electric Heating (DEH) system for a pipeline.
Description of Related Art
The Direct Electric Heating system provides an alternative solution to the mainly used chemical treatments for preventing formation of hydrates or wax plug blocking or impeding the fluid flow through a subsea pipeline. In the Direct Electric Heating system, a power supply such as a cable may be connected to an electrically insulated metallic pipe in a “piggybacked” manner. The cable supplies a current to metallic parts of the pipeline such as the pipe walls, which are used as a conductor generating a heating effect to prevent the formation of hydrates.
Due to the hot well stream flowing through the pipeline, the pipeline expands thermally. To ensure a stable system it is important that an electrical connection between the cable supplying current to the conductor of the pipeline and the pipeline itself is maintained also during thermal expansions of the pipeline. Prior art solutions of fixing the cable to the pipeline have shown to be fragile during offshore handling and welding. It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a solution without the drawbacks of the prior art solution.